


Rehabilitation

by Crazy4U



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-23
Updated: 2011-03-23
Packaged: 2017-10-17 05:45:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/173553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazy4U/pseuds/Crazy4U
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shortly after the team Charge debacle, Vriska seeks medical attention.  Will her creepy neighbor help her, or will even he turn her away?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rehabilitation

**Author's Note:**

> I know a few people have done this, but I wanted to try my hand at it. It's short, but my first attempt at Homestuck fan fiction. There are some CTxAA undertones, but this has Equius in it, so that's inevitable.  
> Also, is it wrong that I had so much fun writing for Vriska, cause I had a blast.

With a groan, Vriska nearly collapsed onto her chair. Aradia and Terezi were taken care of, now she could get some rest. Spending the next few hours in her recuperacoon sounded divine, she felt so tried and weak.  
Vriska looked down at the blood that covered the floor. She really didn't want to clean that up, it could soak into the dice speckled carpet indefinitely, for all she cared.  
Astonishingly, that wasn't the worst of her problems. Even though the bleeding was slowing, she needed medical attention, which was pretty hard to come across on Alternia. The best options for wounded trolls were to either take care of their own injuries, or wait to become something's meal.  
Vriska didn't want to be anyone's meal. She didn't want to admit it, but that haunting, which that little gutter blood had caused, made the thought even less palatable than she thought possible.  
Another thing Vriska didn't want, was to spend the rest of her life with only one arm. How would she type, and rally her FLARPer armies? She depended on those arms, since she couldn't depend on anyone else.  
Vriska glared out the window. Having one eye didn't seem too bad, maybe she could get a super cool eye patch. Everyone would be envious of how dangerous and rakish she'd look. If only she could find a new arm.  
Lips curing into a cunning smile, Vriska realized that the answer to her problem was right across from her. There had to be some perks to living next to a mechanically inclined creep.  
Though she was always worried about him spying on her, and telling potential spider food about her Lusus. With a sneer, she recalled how he had forbade that annoying cave dwelling catgirl from 'fraternizing' with her. What ever, like she would have been able to tolerate her anyways.

After forcing herself off her faithful seat, and taking the long, perilous walk to his hive, Vriska finally stood before Equius' door. She knocked loudly, hoping that he wasn't in his basement punching robots, or in his room doing something gross. Aurthour opened the door, as bruised as ever.  
"Where's Equius?" Vriska asked, this was no time for pleasantries.  
The Lusus looked up in the direction of Equius' room. Of course he'd be in in there.  
"He's not doing anything weird is he?" Vriska asked, entering the hive, and walking to his room.  
Aurthour didn't say anything, which wasn't odd. Plus Vriska was leaving a trail of her blue blood behind, and he'd be the one to clean it up.

"Equius? I need your help, can I come in?" Vriska said, knocking on the door. Her poor right knuckle would be raw if this treatment continued.  
"Vriska?" Equius answered, thankful it didn't sound like he was angry or… had some other reason to get all sweaty, "What brings you here?"  
"I'll give you three guesses." Vriska said, letting herself in.  
He was on his computer, like how most trolls spent their days. After some sporadic typing, Equius turned to look at her. If Vriska had to guess, he had probably been talking to Gamzee, which he seemed to do everyday.  
"What happened to you?" Equius asked, though his voice lacked the concern she wanted.  
"I broke a 8ball a little to hard." Vriska said, "Can you spare an arm? I'll pay you back later, I know this place where I could find you some more 'art' if you fix me."  
"Really?" Equius said.  
He walked over to her, and looked over her missing arm. Vriska grudgingly removed her jacket, so he could get a better look at it. He adjusted his sunglasses, but didn't take them off. Vriska wanted to make a witty and biting comment about it, but held her tongue.  
"Alright. I think I have some excess parts I could spare." Equius said, straightening up.  
"Yeah! Now let's get this over with." Vriska said, throwing her jacket across her good shoulder.

She followed Equius down several flights of stairs, until they reached his lab/cage arena. Even with the overhead lights, it was still pretty dark down there. Maybe Equius really did need those stupid, broken sunglasses.  
There were so many robots, not to mention all the dismembered parts. They all seemed to be staring at her, so many vaguely troll-like shapes in the darkness. Vriska tried not to shudder.  
She watched as Equius began searching through piles of dismembered robots. Damn, this guy just got creepier and creepier the more she got to know him.  
"Is your eye alright?" Equius asked, "I could replace that too, if you so wish."  
"It's fine, I just want an arm." Vriska said, sitting down on a stool next to the workbench.  
Even the workbench was littered with mechanical parts, and tools. Vriska frowned, looking away from the broken head of another robot that seemed to glare at her.  
"Are you positive? Earlier it had looked like you were having a seizure or something of the like." Equius said, glancing at her.  
Ugh, that creep. What else could he see from his slightly more impressive hive?  
"Relax, Zahhak. It was just a little haunting. I took care of it, so it shouldn't happen again." Vriska said, waving her good hand.  
"The souls of your victims decided to procure their vengeance?" Equius said, with what sounded like a smug chuckle.  
"What? How did you know?!" Vriska snapped, she was tired, dizzy, and kind of hungry. She really didn't want to deal with this bastards superiority complex, "Are you in cahoots with that little gutter blood? I always knew you had some sort of sick obsessing with her, you creep. Well now your little partnership has come to an end."  
"Do you refer to Aradia?" Equius asked, turning back to her.  
"How many other ghost wranglers do you know?" Vriska snapped, "But like I said, I put her in her place."  
With that Vriska gave a half crazy, half frustrated laugh. Maybe Equius would take the blood and tears of the lower class as payment, it always seemed to put him in a slightly better mood. That bastard loved hearing about her 'subjugating' those of 'lesser breading'.

Equius came at her so fast, she barely had time to fall off the stool. Covering her head with her good arm, she heard robotic parts clang to the floor, followed by the workbench. The sound of it's weight coming down and the piercing screech of the bending scrap metal echoed around the room, ringing in her ears. It felt like the whole house shook with the force.  
Slowly, Vriska looked up. She was a little proud of herself, for not begging for mercy. It was because she was so brave, and not because she could barely react. That was it.  
Towering over her, dark against the dim overhead lights, was Equius. In all the solar cycles she had lived next to him, she had never seen him this angry. Even after the shaking died away he still trembled with rage. Vriska was thankful his face was silhouetted, there were things even she didn't want to see.  
"What did you do to her?" Equius growled, his voice strained with rage and the immense effort it took to control it, "Tell me, or you will need more than a mere arm."  
Eye darting around the room, Vriska tired to think of something. Anything that could save her hide. Manipulation was out of the question, as was running or fighting him. Could she bargain with him?

There were so many robots, so many shadowed figures in this void of a room. Looming over her was most substantial, the most dangerous of all these specters. All the rest were simply observers, spectators eagerly awaiting the ruthless thief's judgment.  
What could she do? They were both dead, they weren't coming back. No, she had thought that before, and now her victims kept haunting her, like they were right now.  
In the dark, she thought she could spot Terezi and Aradia among them. Terezi's eyes were red, yet empty, like a cave. Aradia's body had an unnatural shine, like she was made of metal.  
The first thing they did after they died was coming and bugging her? Didn't the dead have anything better to do? Vriska glared at them, trying to will them away, and realized, those weren't the lost halves of teams Charge and Scourge. They were robots.  
Robots...

"You can replace my arm, right?" Vriska began, her voice so small and timid it was only audible in this judging silence.  
"That is irrelevant." Equius muttered, just as quiet.  
He clenched his fists tighter. Even in the dull light Vriska could see how white his knuckles were, and swallowed.  
"You could replace more than just an arm? Like say," She did her best to look Equius' in the eye, "A whole body?"  
There was a sharp, ragged intake of breath. Vriska shut her eyes, expect to become nothing but a cerulean strain against oil black.  
"You could make a whole body, couldn't you?" Vriska continued, "And it would be even better than her old one."  
"You destroyed her entire body? You-" Equius said, his voice sounded more horrified than enraged. Damn, she never expected him to like that 'peasant' girl this much.  
"Don't think of it as her death, think of it as her rebirth." Vriska said, sitting up, her voice steadily gaining momentum.  
Equius faltered, and ran a shaking hand through his hair. She could feel his gaze on her, heavy, judgmental. It was now or never, she had to convince him to spare her.  
"Look at all these robots! If anyone could fix her, it's you." Vriska said, getting to her feet, her poor, blood deprived mind was in overdrive, "I made a mistake, and now I want to make up for it. Doesn't everyone deserve redemption?"  
These words made Equius flinch. His body sagged, and he stared at the ground. Vriska wasn't, and would never be, Terezi, but she could be damn effective, especially when it came to stupid brutes like this.  
"Do you honestly think she would like that?" Equius asked, the madness in his voice had become more desperate, and sad.  
"I'm sure she would. It would be a chance to start talking to her." Vriska said.  
"But... What remains of her?" Equius asked, and began to think intently.  
"She's a strong psychic, so all we have to do is wait for her ghost to show up." Vriska said.  
This was good. If Aradia had a robot body then she couldn't haunt her, and would be limited to the physical world. Maybe, just maybe, she could win over the dead girl with this gesture.  
"I could gift her with a superior body." Equius said, his breathing was getting heavier, "Without that filthy red sludge in her veins."  
"That's the spirit, but remember, it's my idea." Vriska said, "Speaking of remembering, could you please fix my arm, than you can start working on your girlfriend."  
For a moment, Equius looked like he was going to snap at her, but that last remark softened him.  
"Very well." He sighed, "Just let me-"  
All the fuel that Vriska's broken body had been running on decided to sputtered out at that moment. With a groan, she collapsed onto the floor.  
"I hope my new arm looks good with an eye patch." Vriska thought, with her last moments of lucidity.


End file.
